1. Field
Embodiments of this invention relate to the field of coldplate and vacuum chamber cooling designs, and more specifically, to a coldplate or chamber wall formed of two materials joined together using explosion welding.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vacuum chambers sometimes generate a large amount of heat due to processes occurring inside (e.g. plasma generation), and the heat must be removed to protect components of the chamber. For large heat loads, a fluid is used to cool the chamber. Ideally, the cooling fluid should flow through channels made directly on the body of the vacuum chamber. However, as this method is generally impractical, heat is usually removed by attaching cooling tubes to the chamber and flowing cooling fluid through the tubes.
This method works for low heat flux densities because the high thermal resistance from chamber to cooling fluid is not so great as to result in overly high chamber temperatures. As vacuum chambers are made smaller, greater heat flux densities make the chamber hotter. This demands a more efficient method of removing heat in order to keep the chamber temperatures at acceptable levels. Coldplates are similarly used in many different applications to cool electronics and other components. For example, in plasma chambers, coldplates are used for the walls of the plasma chamber and also to provide cooling to electronic components. Typically, coldplates are also made by attaching cooling tubes to a metal part, such as a machined aluminum or aluminum alloy plate and then attaching the plate on a substrate that carries components to be cooled. As with the chamber cooling pipes, one limitation of this approach is the attachment between the cooling tubes and the metal plate. If the tubes are soldered, brazed, welded or epoxied to the aluminum plate, then the attachment point might limit the flow of heat from the plate to the cooling tubes.